by Douglas Robson, USA TODAY Sports

by Douglas Robson, USA TODAY Sports

But Novak Djokovic made sure the King of Clay earned it, gritty bit by gritty bit, in a classic French Open semifinal that lived up to the marquee billing.

Nadal, the seven-time French Open champion, served for the match in the fourth set, then fought back from an early break in the decider to hold off No. 1 Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 9-7 on Friday.

The Spaniard will play for an unprecedented eighth Roland Garros title against compatriot David Ferrer, who pummeled local hope Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

"I congratulate my opponent, because he showed the courage in the right moments and went for his shots, and when he was break down in the fifth he made some incredible shots from the baseline," said Serbia's Djokovic, who was seeking his first French Open title and lost to Nadal in last year's final.

"... It has been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment. I wanted this title so much."

A 4-hour, 47-minute semifinal masquerading as a final, the match on Philippe Chatrier Court had plenty and then some: relentless defense, sizzling winners, time-delay warnings, point penalties, drop shots and, most of all, heart.

"If we talk about everything that makes a match big, today we had all of these ingredients," said Nadal, who improved to 58-1 in his career at Roland Garros.

The roller-coaster match might have turned for good midway through the fifth set.

Serving at 4-3, Djokovic lost his balance and stumbled into the net in an attempt to redirect a forehand volley.

"I should have won that point in 99.9% of cases," Djokovic said. "It was a bit unfortunate."'

Nadal eventually broke to level the match. He broke one last time in the final game.

"It was probably the most decisive point," said Djokovic's coach, Marian Vajda.

The match overall was a fitting addition to the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry, which is becoming the sport's most important.

At 26 and 27, Djokovic and Nadal are in their prime and have met 35 times, equaling the most matches for any two players in Open era history - five more than Nadal and Roger Federer. Nadal leads the series with Djokovic 20-15.

They have faced off 10 times in majors for joint second place, including five finals, and are sure to meet in many more. Together they have won nine of the last 12 major titles.

"At the end what makes this match classic, this match interesting, is because we played a lot of times in important moments, in important situations for both of our careers," Nadal said. "I really hope to have the chance to keep playing tennis for a lot of years and have the chance to keep having rivals like Novak."

Nadal earned some payback in their second best-of-five set match to go the distance.

At the 2012 Australian Open, Djokovic prevailed in a marathon that lasted 5 hours, 53 minutes, the longest Grand Slam final in history.

Give them marks for consistency. Both matches consisted of 55 total games.

"These kind of matches make the sport big," Nadal said. "I lost similar one in Australia. Today was for me."

For Nadal, anything was better than the seven months he spent sitting at home recovering from a knee injury until his return in February.

"I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV," Nadal said.

After a strong opening set from Nadal, Djokovic turned it around in the second set. The third set was all Nadal, in part because of a questionable line call early on. Djokovic thought he had a winner that would have set him up to break, but Nadal and umpire Pascal Maria saw the ball wide. Replays on Tennis Channel using the Hawkeye technology showed the ball on the line.

After disappearing for most of the third set, Djokovic surged in the fourth, responding to breaks by breaking right back, including when Nadal was serving for the match at 5-4, two points from the final.

Conditions, which began last week as cold and rainy, were the opposite Friday: warm and sunny, which helped give Nadal's topspin-laden shots extra bite and bounce.

Djokovic made his case more than once the clay had become too dry and asked for the court to be watered. His request was denied.

"It got very dry, and it was very slippery," Djokovic said. "I think that it's wrong what they did."

As the tension built, Nadal pulled off the shot of the day - and perhaps the tournament - in the 14th game of the set. Retreating for a lob, he flicked the ball on the run between his legs with his back to the net. That left Djokovic with an easy overhead, but he dumped it in the net, and the crowd roared at the improbable sequence.

The mistake didn't cost Djokovic, who won the game on the next point for 7-all. But the next blown overhead did, on the opening point of the final game, and it appeared to shake him as he lost the next three points and the match.

The last shot came 4 hours, 37 minutes after the first. A triumphant Nadal grinned, threw an uppercut and answered the fans' roar with applause for them. Then he gestured graciously toward defeated Djokovic.

"I congratulate Novak," Nadal told the crowd. "He's a very great champion. He will win here at Roland Garros another year."

Djokovic said he'll continue to try.

"Nothing comes easy to you; you've got to earn it," he said. "Of course the feeling is not great at the moment, but I still feel I have years in front of me. So I will come back to Paris, to this Grand Slam, and I will keep on trying to win it."

Maria docked Nadal a point in the second set for playing too slowly and later warned Djokovic for the same violation.

Along with changes in the lead, there were the sort of long, scrambling rallies that are expected when Djokovic and Nadal meet. Three strokes clipped the net on one wild exchange, which included a drop shot by each player, two lunging scoops and finally a winning volley by Djokovic, who grinned at the improbable sequence as the crowd roared.

In the end, Nadal was not to be denied on the surface he loves.

The Spaniard won his record seventh French Open title last year when he beat Djokovic in the final. Since returning in February, Nadal is 42-2, winning 21 matches in a row, and is on the verge of his seventh title this year.

He improved to 17-3 in Grand Slam semifinals and has won 20 of his past 21 matches against top 10 players.

No. 4-seeded Ferrer has been among the best players in the world in the last few years and will finally get a crack at a Grand Slam title. He had been 0-5 in major semifinals. He has played in more major tournaments - 42 - to reach his first final than any other man in the Open era.

Ferrer has swept all 18 of his sets in the tournament.

"I am not tired," he said. "This is very important playing against Rafa, because I need to be 100% to do well against him."

Ferrer is 4-19 against Nadal, who has won their last eight meetings.

Tsonga was trying to become the first French champion at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah 30 years ago. No Frenchman has advanced to the final since Henri Leconte in 1988.